A Few Days Behind!

So there is always a certain point in our trips where we get a little behind in the blog posts because we are running around like crazy and just get a little tired. But this time it really isn’t our fault. On Thursday afternoon the internet at the house we are staying in went down, and on Friday the city lost power. So we really haven’t been able to update the blog on our trip. But all is well and things are now back up and running. For now. ;)

The last few days have been full of more and more rain. The rain tends to start around 3 or 4. If we are lucky we can get out of class and done with lunch by 2 so that we can get out for a bit around town before it gets wet. On Friday Alex went to Sef and Kit’s grandmothers house to play. Sef and Kit are the two youngest sons and are around Alex’s age. Tim and Michelle went to drop off laundry at the launderia and run other errands. The only downside was that it was pouring. They only had one umbrella between the two of them and were both soaked. It was back to the house to grab the other one before setting off on a walk about the town. The rain kept coming down hard for the rest of the day, so after a quick dinner it was off to bed.

Saturday was full of sleeping in and a slow breakfast. Sef, Kit, Alex and a a family friend Justin were off to the lake to try to catch fish for dinner. Tim and Michelle were off with Rosa (the mother of our hose family) and her two daughters to the market. Today Rosa was going to show us how to make Guatemalan tamales. We had to buy the ingredients for the days meal at the market. This is something Rosa does each morning so that the food is as fresh as possible. Chicken, pork ribs, spices and chilies were all purchased in a market bustling with activity. Rosa brought her own soaked corn to the grinders to be ground into fresh masa. With out ingredients in hand it was back to the house for cooking and assembly.

In Guatemala they use leaves instead of the corn husks we are used to in the US. Which means the leaves have to be cleaned. Michelle had the job of making sure they were clean while Tim was in the kitchen working on the sauce and the masa/rice mixture that Rosa uses for the stuffing of the tamale. Rosa also put in whole pieces of meat with the bones still in tact in with the tamales, instead of shredded meat, which made the tamale more of a dish than a hand held meal. All of it was delicious, and we ate it for lunch and dinner.

The rain came more in the afternoon again, so after a quick trip by Tim to get our laundry we were at the house hanging out for the rest of the night. Tomorrow we will be eating around town as meals are not provided on Sundays, and we are excited to try out some of the places around town. We will also be going to Rosa’s church in the afternoon. We are looking forward to that experience also.

 Hasta luego!